T-Cell Cocktail – Dual Stain. Zeta’s T-CELL COCKTAIL is a DUAL STAIN product that recognized both CD4 and CD8 to help identify T-cell subpopulations and provides visualization of the immune cell composition within the tissue microenvironment by enabling two chromogen detection on one slide. In cancer prognosis, the T-Cell Cocktail can provide predictive immune response information; in autoimmune and inflammation, it can characterize the infiltrate type (CD4 versus CD8 dominant); and in transplant monitoring, it can detect rejection or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
CD4 is expressed in a T-cell subset (helper/inducer) and is found in approximately 80% of thymocytes and in 45% of peripheral blood lymphocytes. CD4 is expressed in most T-cell lymphomas. The CD8 antigen is a cell surface glycoprotein found on most cytotoxic T lymphocytes that serves as a coreceptor. CD8 is expressed on cytotoxic suppressor T cells and on approximately one third of peripheral blood T cells. CD8 has also been detected at a low level on some natural killer (NK) cells.
The T-cell Cocktail can help distinguish between CD4-dominant vs. CD8-dominant infiltrates, which is crucial in solid tumor immunity (colorectal, breast, melanoma, etc), lymphoid neoplasms, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. The T-cell Cocktail can also distinguish benign reactive lymphoid hyperplasia from T-cell lymphoma and clonality and abnormal CD4:CD8 ratios can support suspicion of malignancy.
In tumors, higher CD8+ T cell infiltration often correlates with better prognosis (immune surveillance). Additionally, CD4/CD8 ratios can identify immunosuppressed states or tumor-induced immune evasion and can be useful in evaluating tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, and Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
In transplant pathology (e.g., bone marrow, kidney), CD4/CD8 staining helps track immune reconstitution or rejection episodes and can detect disproportionate T-cell responses indicating graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) or organ rejection.
Finally, the combination of CD4 (brown) and CD8 (red) is helpful in distinguishing mycosis fungoides (CD4+). Multiplex IHC may also give distinct advantages if ratios and/or cell counts on a single slide are desired.
Zeta’s DUAL STAIN products provide more information from limited tissues, by seeing two related markers on the same slide while also allowing pathologists to see cellular localization and interaction within the tumor environment. Zeta uses one mouse and one rabbit recombinant monoclonal in each cocktail to allow for differential color results.
Zeta Corporation is a leader in recombinant monoclonal IVD antibodies for immunohistochemistry (IHC) offering 400+ tumor and tissue specific relevant products developed by a pathologist for pathologists. Visit Precision Recombinant Antibodies – IVD Antibodies – About Zeta Corporation (zeta-corp.com) to learn more about Zeta Corporation.